Steve Hilton’s CalDOGE Uncovers $370M in CA Fraud, Funding Left-Wing Activism

California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton says his unofficial “CalDOGE” initiative has uncovered $370 million in fraud and misused funds across the state. At the center of the controversy is money generated by Proposition 64, the 2016 ballot measure legalizing marijuana, which voters approved with the understanding that millions of dollars would be directed toward substance abuse prevention and related programs.

Instead, Hilton alleges, significant portions of those funds were diverted to activism, organizing efforts, and voter registration drives after being funneled through an unelected nonprofit organization. That organization’s value has surged from $11.8 million in 2018 to $197 million in 2024.

“Welcome, everyone,” Hilton said. “We are here outside the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. This is where your money goes. This building is where your money goes into the Democrats’ bottomless money pit. And today we are making the first announcement at the new California Department of Government Efficiency run by Jenny Rae Le Roux.”

Hilton reiterated that CalDOGE estimates as much as $250 billion in fraud statewide, describing this announcement as one of the group’s first major discoveries.

It’s a classic. The Democrats are taking hundreds of millions of dollars, $370 million we’ve tracked so far, from the cannabis tax that voters passed as an initiative, that the money that comes from taxes from cannabis sales is supposed to go for substance abuse help, instead is being siphoned off to Democrat political front organisations in hundreds of tiny grants that are hard to track for things like voter registration. Nothing to do with substance abuse.

This is exactly what happens. Money that is supposed to be for one purpose, to help the public, siphoned off into a Democrat slush fund to help entrench their political power. We saw it with fire aid, $100 million there, supposed to help fire victims, ended up going into things like voter registration, exactly as we are detailing here today.

“This is what you get after 16 years of one-party rule. Total corruption, total arrogance,” Hilton added. “They think they can get away with it forever. No more. They’re not going to get away with it.”

🚨 NEW FROM CAL DOGE: Our first Fraud Report. $370 million in Cannabis Tax money that was supposed to be used for “substance abuse prevention” siphoned off into a Democrat voter registration slush fund.

DETAILS:

1. Californians voted to fund youth drug prevention through the… pic.twitter.com/aEsoXhBLZw

— Steve Hilton (@SteveHiltonx) February 13, 2026

This comes after top state officials have denied that any fraud is present in the state of California. 

The state’s Attorney General Rob Bonta argued that the “California DOJ, our law enforcement agents, our investigators, and our prosecutors have been on the ground, in our communities, fighting fraud, waste, and abuse for years,” adding that “California has developed real expertise in identifying this type of fraud. We’ve got a track record of actually holding bad actors accountable, and we’ve successfully recovered, again, nearly $3 billion in stolen taxpayer dollars.”

Neither Attorney General Rob Bonta nor Governor Gavin Newsom has commented on the fraud allegations raised by CalDOGE and Steve Hilton’s campaign. 

The claims come as scrutiny over state-level oversight have intensified nationwide following a separate $9 billion fraud scandal in Minnesota. As questions mount about how public funds are being managed, attention has begun shifting toward fraud in California. The Trump administration has reportedly turned its focus to the state, while independent journalist and YouTuber Nick Shirley, who previously uncovered significant childcare fraud in Minnesota, is also now examining possible fraud in California.

Editor’s Note: President Trump is leading America into the “Golden Age” as Democrats try desperately to stop it.  

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